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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

[EXCLUSIVE] Simply Seoul to Shutter at Ponce City Market

Simply Seoul is closing at Ponce City Market. The Korean eatery, which opened in the development's Central Food Hall during the fall of 2015, will close for good after service on Monday, January 8. ToNeTo Atlanta was informed of this expected closure two weeks ago but out of respect for owner Hannah Chung and her employees, we elected to wait until she made it official.

Simply Seoul at PCM courtesy of Simply Seoul's Facebook page

Chung posted the following message to the Simply Seoul facebook page this past week.

"The last 4 years has been such a life changing journey. I want to thank everyone that supported Simply Seoul and made it a successful business. Our last day of service at Ponce City Market will be Monday, Jan 8th. It's been an honor to share my food with the community and I am ready for a new adventure."

Chung started Simply Seoul in April 2013, selling her homemade kimchi at local farmers markets. Via a Kickstarter campaign, Chung raised over $15,000 to put towards a commercial kitchen. The kitchen produced kimchi, buns and sauces so that Chung could continue to build her wholesale business while also expanding the brand with its Ponce City Market location. Simply Seoul's kimchi is currently available at Whole Foods Markets with Chung telling her fans that it's [production] will "most likely be taken over by someone."

Ahead of her opening at Ponce City Market, Chung called her brick & mortar location a "gamechanger" for her business.

Chung is moving to Vancouver to reportedly pursue "new opportunities."

While it's always unfortunate to see businesses close, well placed real estate sources indicate that high rents at Ponce City Market have made it difficult for some tenants to survive.

King of Pops previously operated a grocery stall in the development, with both its King of Crops offerings as well as products from its P10 Foods company, but it closed and has since been replaced by Batter Cookie Dough Counter.

ToNeTo Atlanta was also recently informed of another pending closure at Ponce City Market and when we have confirmation of it, we will update the site.

Are you surprised by Simply Seoul's decision to close at Ponce City Market? What are your thoughts on Ponce City Market? What would you like to see open in place of Simply Seoul at Ponce City Market?

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

It's the dilemma of a popular retail area with the reality of retail. Restaurant and local retail has thin margins. If landlords are greedy, it'll just lead to more empty storefronts. Hopefully, PCM's landlord will find a way to earn the money it needs, without driving local businesses out.